Amazon in Florida: Polk Jobs Possible

Monday

Jun 17, 2013 at 12:13 AM

Gov. Rick Scott's reversal of position on striking a deal with online retailer Amazon.com to bring warehouses and charges for Florida sales tax to the state is welcome.

Gov. Rick Scott's reversal of position on striking a deal with online retailer Amazon.com to bring warehouses and charges for Florida sales tax to the state is welcome.One month ago, Scott must have forgotten his claim to be the jobs governor. The Amazon deal is expected to bring 3,000 jobs to Florida.On May 16, he rejected the proposal with vague talk about discussions not working out. However, the governor's staff and state officials pointed toward Amazon sales tax revenue amounting to a tax increase. It was not. Now, the governor's office says, Amazon will collect Florida sales tax "at such time as it is required under current Florida law."Florida needs more revenue. Schools are short on funding, and many state services continue to run in bare-bones mode to the detriment of residents who should benefit from fundamental state services.Likewise, Florida needs more jobs, which seems to have dawned on Scott — thankfully — even if it is a month after rejecting their prospect.

WINTER HAVEN, LAKELANDWinter Haven has been a site under consideration for an Amazon distribution center, The Ledger's Ryan E. Little reported in articles May 25 and Thursday.City of Winter Haven records show that, before Scott's May quashing of the Amazon proposal, CSX had been working with the Internet company to locate a warehouse near a large new rail-truck freight-transfer center.CSX is moving its main Central Florida freight operation from an old, space-limited site in Orlando to land it bought from Winter Haven.Also under consideration is a site in Lakeland, the Orlando Sentinel reports.The thought is that if rail transport is likely to play much of a role for Amazon, Winter Haven would have the upper hand locally. If truck transport is paramount, Lakeland would be more likely, considering that Interstate 4 runs through the city.Either way, local residents could be expected to profit by the addition of jobs if Amazon builds a distribution warehouse in Polk County.Amazon also may be considering a site in Ruskin. The Hillsborough County Commission is scheduled to consider tax incentives in a meeting Wednesday.The Tampa Bay Times says the economic incentives would total $6.6 million, Amazon would build the warehouse a cost of $200 million and 1,000 jobs would be created.Amazon's entry into Florida is not an economic cure-all, but the creation of jobs, the effect of an expanded payroll, and expenditures related to construction and operation should be of substantial benefit to Floridians.